Living Life
by SolarKiss
Summary: When Kagome and Inuyasha have their first son, Taro, what kind of adventures will this little tyke get into-considering they are living in the modern day world...and the fact that Taro has a genetic transfusion like Daddy...
1. It's a Boy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not, under any circumstances, own InuYasha. If I did, do you think I'd be using him for a silly fic? I don't think so…

**A/N: **Okaaaay, first and new ficcy. Hope you like, and please no flames, since it is my first. Cut me some slack. Alrighty then here we go.

**Living Life**

**Prologue: It's a Boy**

The rain thundered down on the windows from outside. Every now and then, the lights would flicker for a moment from the storm, but then it would settle back down to the bright, on going glow.

Well, what else would you expect if you came down to the hospital a little before midnight in the middle of a thunderstorm?

Exactly what Inuyasha had in mind…

After fidgeting in the chair he had been offered for a while, he stood up and began pacing. It was nervous for a husband to wait around while his wife was giving birth to their soon-to-be boy/girl.

He couldn't even comprehend at the events that had just happened not too long ago. They were both already in bed for quite a while, until he heard Kagome get up and go to the bathroom. When she emerged, the look on her face was a mix between joy and slight pain.

"Inuyasha…my water just broke,"

She felt a little uncomfortable telling him this news at 11:30 PM, but she couldn't just demand they leave for the hospital with no explanation. He shouldn't have been too surprised by this declaration either, considering she had been having her contractions for some time before.

When they arrived at the hospital, Kagome had become a little bit paler and slightly wobbly on her feet. After consulting with the doctors, they instructed Kagome to do her breathing.

"Inhale through the nose whilst keeping your shoulders relaxed, and then exhale through the mouth as you release all the tension in your body,"

As she breathed, Kagome gripped Inuyasha's hand tightly as he squeezed comfortingly right back, not caring that she was probably cutting off his circulation.

"Are you okay?"

"Just a little nervous,"

"Don't worry, you're going to be fine and do great. I'll be right here waiting for you,"

Kagome nodded as the doctors came and ushered her into the delivery room. Inuyasha gave her one more reassuring handclasp before she was whisked away and out of sight.

Now he was waiting for what seemed like an eternity for his passage into the room to see Kagome. He started wringing his hands, and when he stood still for at leastfive seconds, he would scuff his shoes together and then continue pacing.

It seemed to be getting on the nerves of the elderly man in the nearby chair.

"Keep acting like that kid and you'll separate your hands from your wrists. I really don't want to see decapitated hands on the floor, you know."

"Keep talking like that and it won't be my hands on the floor."

"Is that a threat?" the old man glared.

"Maybe," Inuyasha glared right back.

The old man scoffed and turned away, muttering something that only a hanyou's ears could pick up, "...lousy youth these days…"

Inuyasha ignored this comment and kept up his pacing. No situation would ever turn his attitude around.

* * *

Kagome was still on the bed, continuing her breathing as the doctors had instructed her. While they set up the equipment and necessary tools for this birth, many unpleasant thoughts reeled through her mind.

'_This is never going to work. I can't do this. I can't. What made me think I could have a child. I can't do it,'_

Through all the worries, Inuyasha's words still floated around in her brain, comforting her.

'_Don't worry, you're going to be fine and do great. I'll be right here waiting for you,'_

With those words swimming around, she knew she couldn't back down…not that she really could in this situation. She hadn't even realized one of the doctors speaking to her.

"Okay, everything is set, so here's what we're going to do. When I give you the okay, start pushing, alright?"

Kagome nodded weakly.

"Okay then ready? On the count of three. One…"

She sucked in her breath.

"Two…"

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut.

"Three…"

She pictured Inuyasha's face when he saw their new child…

"Push!"

Kagome had probably not experienced anything as painful as this. Her contractions just went overboard and she knew the baby was making its way out of her womb. After a short pause, her contractions started up again, and the baby made its way through her cervix.

"You're doing great, just keep going,"

Kagome could barely hear her over the roar in her ears. It was painful to try and put any brain power at all into what the doctor just said. Instead, she continued pushing.

Now here came the "ring of fire".

Her body stretched for the baby's head to emerge from the uterus, which caused Kagome to cry out loudly. She gripped the sheets on her bed in a fist as the doctor continued the process.

"We've got a head! You're doing great, dear,"

Once the shoulders emerged, the rest of the body came out smoothly. Kagome released all her tension she had pent up when a tiny wailing filled the room.

After the placenta was expelled from her body and the umbilical cord was cut, the doctor handed the baby to Kagome.

"It's a boy," she said smiling.

Kagome couldn't help smile herself, even though the experience she just went through was taking its toll on her. She could careless. Staring into that pudgy, round little face made Kagome realize this was all worth it.

She held the baby with such care, it was like holding an angel.

After a brief period of time, in which the doctor said the baby was bonding with Kagome, she allowed the father to come in.

Inuyasha pretty much barreled into the room, eyes scanning for his wife. When they locked on Kagome, the smile that blossomed on his face was enough to make her all warm inside. It was that smile that made her know that her decision to spend the rest of her life with him was the right choice.

"It's a boy," she proclaimed happily.

"Oh my god….this is incredible," he said as he walked to the side of her bed. He squeezed her hand and rubbed his thumb along the curves in his palm. "I knew you could do it. Are you feeling okay?"

"Tired."

"No wonder. Rest as much as you want."

The doctor turned back to the couple. "What's his name?"

Kagome looked to Inuyasha. Although they had been planning this, neither of them thought the names they chose were good enough for the bundle of joy Kagome had in her arms. "You name him," she said at last.

"Ok…well…let's name him Taro. It's simple and I like it,"

"I like it too."

"Taro it is," the doctor answered as she wrote it down on a clipboard. "Ok Dad, you can see them again in a little bit, but right now Mom needs to rest for a little bit,"

A smile quirked Inuyasha's lips at being called "dad", and sent his hand through her hair, ruffling it with his claws. Then, with one last look at Taro, he left.

"I'll take him, "the doctor said, "and I'll give him back to you when you wake up,"

"Ok..." Kagome said, wanting nothing more than to rest.

The doctor had barely left the room before Kagome laid her head on the pillows. Her last thought before she drifted off was, '_I have got to tell Sango…"_

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Alrighty, a little long for a prologue but it had to be done. Well, now that that's over with, please review with kindness, or else. dun dun duuun.


	2. A Typical School Morning

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha, but my plan to own Koga one day is still under way.

**A/N: **Alright, first official chapter of Living life is posted! Sorry about the wait, but I've been really busy since the prologue. Speaking of which, the actual story is taking place 8 years after the prologue. So if you were expecting a fic about baby Taro in the new world with Inu and Kag, sorry to disappoint you. Anyway, I'll shut up so you can scroll down and read the story :)

**Living Life**

**Chapter 1: A Typical School Morning**

An agitating ringing aroused Taro's senses, causing him to turn over in bed and jam a pillow over his head. In his sleepy haze, something told him he should just beat up the ringing object…instincts probably.

At least, that's what he learned from his Dad.

And Taro found him to be quite right on most occasions. If something was bothering him, why not give it a good smack and end the ordeal? However, a powerful wave of sympathy swept over him that kept him from hitting the accursed object and ceasing the sound. This came from his Mom's genes, no doubt.

Using much effort, Taro cracked open his eyes to see his alarm clock was the source of the ring.

Well, he could hit this….

With glee, Taro slammed his fist on the "OFF" button. Due to the immense pressure from his fist, the glass cracked and spread across the digital frame. Now that that problem was solved, Taro readied himself to slip back into slumber….

"Taro!" screamed a female voice. "Get up for school!"

Taro groaned and rolled out of bed as his Mom walked into the room.

"Here, I have your uniform ready," Kagome said, gesturing to the bundle of clothes she held. When she placed them on the bed, Kagome picked up a pair of white shorts and revealed the back, where a hole had been cut.

"Look," she said, "I even made some room for your tail. Now you don't have to risk ripping them."

Taro nodded, happy with the new change. In past years, he had experienced the humiliation from classmates when the sound of tearing cloth could be heard. Most kids kindly overlooked this sight, but being a half demon came with a price.

Taro was 8 years old, and today was going to be his first day of second grade. And he went to school with the reputation of having blood of the dog demon flow through his veins. His tail was proof.

Ignoring all the taunts and jeers, Taro felt very unique. He had an unusual appearance, complete with amber eyes, pointed ears, sharp fangs and claws, and one, cobalt marking that streaked across his cheek on either side of his face. His hair was silver, not gray, like many silken strands of a spider's web woven together, glistening naturally. It fell to his chin while two long strands from his bangs fell to his neck line. His tail, which stuck out like a sore thumb, looked the same as his hair.

Half demon or not, Taro definitely had one of the snazziest looks in all of Tokyo.

Taro pulled off his pajama pants and stuffed his legs into the shorts. His tail slipped through the hole with ease and swished around, showing that no pant-splitting would occur today.

Taro gave his tail another flick for good measure, then leaped onto Kagome's lap and pulled her into a large bear hug, beaming. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Mommy! I can tell this is going to be a great school year."

Kagome returned the embrace, grinning from ear to ear. She didn't think it could possibly get wider, but she was proven wrong when footsteps could be heard on the stairs, and in seconds, Inuyasha stood in the doorway.

His eyes grew wide, feigning surprise as he walked into the room. "Is this really our Taro, Kagome?" he looks too old to be our youngster."

"Of course it is. Who else would have such an adorable tail," Kagome replied, stroking the furry pelt. Taro giggled as he lunged from Kagome to Inuyasha's leg, clinging to it as if it were his life support.

Inuyasha walked over to the bed, paying no mind to the chortling body that held him. "Well, I'm still not sure, so I'll have to test _this _Taro to see if he's the real one," he said, jostling his occupied leg.

In one swift movement, Inuyasha had flopped taro down on the mattress, crouched over him, and commenced the Tickling Technique of Torture.

Taro felt all his nerves go through a spasm as his senses picked up the giddy feeling and allowed it to spread throughout his body. No one could survive Inuyasha's deadly tickling, not even Kagome, and now, Taro was vulnerable to his father's nails. His talons crawled over Taro's skin, trailing to his most squeamish places. Every squeal and howl that left Taro's mouth was one of pure delight.

"D…..D-Dad…. Daddy……please…mer-mercy..,"he said between fits of laughter.

"So the enemy has surrendered. Well, I'm convinced that this is Taro. He can't stand the triple T." Inuyasha sat down on the floor, relieving Taro. He crawled to where Kagome sat and leaned against her shoulder.

"I was nervous there for a second. I really thought we had a 2nd grader in here."

"We do daddy, it's me!"

Inuyasha turned to Taro, bewildered. "Really? Wow, did you grow! It was only last night that you were only about that tall," Inuyasha said, pointing to a stool in the corner of the room-one that was barely 2 feet in height.

"Oh, come on Daddy, you know I'm taller than _that_. Why is he being so silly Mommy?"

"Because Daddy is just one big silly head that goes around in this house doing silly stuff," Kagome replied, and began scratching behind one of the "silly head's" cute puppy ears. He grunted in indignation, despite the fact that his foot had been tapping pleasantly to the gentle strokes of her fingers. It was the closest to a tail wag she would get out of him.

Taro sat there looking from Inuyasha to Kagome, and wondered what made them decide to be together for the rest of their lives. It wasn't hard to figure out Kagome was mortal, despite the fact she was a reincarnated priestess with incredible miko powers. Unlike Inuyasha (even though his hair had been combed through) Kagome had changed a lot after high school.

Her body had become longer and curvier, with the exception of her pregnancy. The long, wild hair had become a short, flowing cut that brushed the tops of her shoulders. A brush had been acquainted with her bangs, which now looked glossy and smooth. Her eyes had grown slightly smaller from age, but the emotions that swirled around in those blue orbs would always be there. The angelic skin gave her complexion an unearthly glow, seemingly radiant wherever she went.

Kagome abruptly stood up, grabbed Inuyasha's wrist, and walked out of the room. "Change into your uniform while I make breakfast," she said, and disappeared down the stairs.

Taro quickly pulled on the rest of his clothes, applying his white shirt and black tie, tied his shoes, and headed down to the kitchen. Immediately, a spicy aroma awakened his senses, and he sniffed deeply, savoring the warm smell. Realization struck him, and he bolted into the kitchen. Taro glanced at the table and spotted it-the bowl filled to the brim with steaming noodles and broth, like a holy gift from the heavens.

"Ramen!" taro squealed, hopping into the chair and beginning to scoop it up into his hands.

Kagome was by his side in a flash, slapping his hand away from the soup. "Don't even think about it mister. You're patient enough to wait for your chopsticks, so use your manners and keep your hands to yourself."

"Maybe he doesn't have any," Inuyasha stated. "After all, he got my genes in etiquette, so why should this surprise you?"

"He unfortunately got your love for ramen as well, and I know now he will stop at nothing to get it everyday. I mean, you can hardly call ramen a meal, let alone breakfast. I bet Taro wouldn't mind having a well balanced meal for once, wouldn't you?"

"No," Taro answered bluntly, too busy staring at his bowl to be polite.

Kagome looked slightly put out. "Oh, okay." She quickly took the chopsticks and slapped them on the table, attempting to show her annoyance with this decision. "Fine, go ahead. Eat the ramen for its worth."

"Thanks," Taro said, not getting Kagome's sarcasm. This made Inuyasha chuckle.

Kagome whirled on him. "You're the one he gets it from! Coming home from work, sitting on the couch, slurping up that-that-flavored water crap!" Kagome pointed an accusing finger at Inuyasha.

"Gasp Kagome that really hurt," he said as he grasped her hands and gave her fingers a tiny slap in that 'naughty girl manner'. "Shame on you."

"Oh for the love of….," Kagome trailed off as she began making Taro's lunch.

A few minutes later, the sound of a doorbell resonated through the house. Taro was quick to answer as he hopped off the chair and bounced to the door. He flung it open and a wide smile spread across his face.

"Shisai!!" Taro cried as a young boy wearing the same school uniform skipped into the house. He had long brown hair tied into a ponytail that hung limply down his back, like his mother. But his violet eyes that held a sense of peace and holiness within them were definitely his fathers.

Kagome walked into the entryway, followed closely by Inuyasha, and squealed at the woman in front of her.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome hugged Sango with so much force Sango had to keep her footing so she wouldn't fall over. Her hair came down to her elbows and had a slight curly nature. Miroku, the man next to her, had gotten a buzz cut and his hair now stood up in little spikes.

Miroku came over and hugged Kagome as well, rubbing his hands up and down her back in a friendly manner…..too bad his right palm had to meet her buttocks.

Each of them felt a large force pulling on them from behind; Sango dragging Miroku backwards, and Kagome being shoved behind Inuyasha protectively.

"Haven't dropped those methods, eh pervert?" he said, his quirky smile of remembrance at Miroku's ways going unnoticed.

"The habit is skin deep my friend. Besides, Sango has learned to cope with it, haven't you dear?" Miroku said as he slung an arm over Sango's shoulder.

She shrugged it off, clearly annoyed. "Oh yeah, it's perfectly fine with me if you grope women daily. If you were getting paid to do that, we would be millionaires by now."

"But we're not, so just think of it as a reflex and we can live on happily."

"Oh that helps a lot."

"At least I'm not asking them to bear a child."

"God forbid," Sango said with disgust.

Taro and Shisai looked on at this spectacle silently. "Shisai, what does it mean when you grope someone?"

"I think it's when a man hugs women," he replied.

"But me and Daddy hug Mommy all the time and she doesn't say anything."

"Hmmm….maybe it's a certain, sensitive part you need to touch."

"Like your bottom?"

"Possibly."

"Do you think there are other parts?"

"Well, I would imagine-

"OK, who's ready to go to school today," Kagome yelled, interrupting the conversation the grown-ups happened to stumble upon. "Taro, get your stuff for school and meet us at the door. We'll all walk to school together."

Taro did as he was told, heading into the kitchen for his lunch. Before he could reach for his lunchbox, a clawed hand slapped down on the lid.

Inuyasha smiled, and rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a Styrofoam cup of ramen and slipped it into his lunchbox. "It's from my secret stash, but we'll just keep this a secret from Mommy, okay?" He winked at Taro and ruffled his hair.

Taro winked back, grabbed the lunchbox and headed out the door, bringing his book bag with him.

As the group headed to school, Taro and Shisai walked ahead while the adults fell behind.

"It's a beautiful day," Sango commented, "which means it will be a good day for Shisai and Taro."

"Ever the optimist, eh Sango? Too bad that will only go for Shisai. I can already tell today won't be a favorite for Taro," Inuyasha said.

"And here we have Tokyo's biggest pessimist," Kagome sighed. "Why so negative all of a sudden?"

"Kagome, you and I both know Taro's never had a great public appearance because of his heritage. School is just another bump he's learning to hurdle. Sometimes he trips, but most of the time he's too scared to try and jump over at all."

"Well I try to look on the bright side of these issues. Besides, the civilians learned to cope with you, so Taro just needs some time."

"I bet you Tetsusaiga they only accepted me because I can fight their fears," Inuyasha grumbled. Whenever they needed help, Inuyasha would get a call from the police, asking for his strength. Inuyasha never refused in a life or death situation, but he couldn't help feeling this was the only reason they treated him with kindness.

Kagome rubbed his arm comfortingly. "Don't worry, they like you, they'll like Taro."

When Kagome put it into words like that, it was hard for Inuyasha to stay gloomy. He then entered a sense of peace….until the blare of a car horn turned his, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango's attention to the scene in front of them.

At the intersection, a taxi was shooting down the road, beeping its horn before it passed through the green light. The reason for its honking?

Right where the taxi was about to drive through, Taro and Shisai were crossing the street, not seeing the incoming taxi…..

Inuyasha lunged forward, grabbed both boys' shirt collars and pulled them back on to the sidewalk. The beeping ceased and the taxi passed through the intersection safely.

"Ok, another rule of the road. Wait until you have parental supervision before crossing the street," Inuyasha ground out.

Taro and Shisai both muttered "sorry" as they looked down at the ground.

"Now boys, thank Inuyasha for saving your sorry skins," Miroku scolded.

"Thank you Inuyasha for saving our sorry skins," the boys said in unison.

After much hassle, with Inuyasha keeping a firm hold on taro and Shisai when they came in a 10 foot range of a traffic light, the elementary school yard finally came into view.

Shisai wasted no time in saying good-bye to Miroku and Sango before he ran into the yard. Taro, on the other hand, stayed rooted to the spot. He seemed a little nervous.

"Taro, come on, go follow Shisai. You'll be fine," Kagome said.

Taro shook his head, scuttling behind Inuyasha's leg.

"Come on taro, Shisai's fine, stick with him and you'll get through the day," Sango encouraged. Still Taro stayed behind the safety of Inuyasha.

Finally, Kagome gently took Taro's hand and led him to the yard. "Come on honey, they won't bite," she said.

_Some will, _Taro thought, remembering he wasn't the only half/full demon attending school.

As they neared the yard, Kagome spotted a little boy with red hair, sitting alone underneath a tree.

"Taro, look! He seems nice. He even has a tail like you." This seemed to make Taro a little more confident.

Once they neared the tree, the boy looked up at taro and smiled. "Hi, my name's Shippo. What's yours? That's a nice tail. I like it. You like mine. I like mine. You've got silver hair? That's neat! I wish I had silver hair. Actually I don't. I lied. I like red hair. You like red hair? I like red hair. Wanna be friends?"

Kagome smiled. The abnormally peppy youkai was exactly what taro needed for today. She bent down and kissed Taro on the forehead. "Bye sweety. Daddy and I will pick you up in a little bit, okay?"

Taro nodded and sat down happily next to Shippo. Kagome walked back to Inuyasha. Immediately he pounced on her.

"Are you sure Taro likes him? What if he's just putting on that sweet kid appearance? What if he's really a brat? What if he unscrews the bolts on Taro's desk, or glues the pages of his textbooks together, or puts arsenic in his juice, or-

"Inuyasha!" Kagome squealed. "Don't be ridiculous! That's never going to happen." She then smiled. "I never knew what a worry wart you could be."

Inuyasha snorted, but he knew Kagome too well. She was as nervous for Taro as he was, possibly even more. If he had a worry wart, hers was fit to bursting.

Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango began to leave the schoolyard. Miroku and Sango conversed, but the thought of Taro's school day plagued Inuyasha and Kagome's minds, keeping them silent. If Taro was any bit nervous, it was miniscule to what his parents were feeling.

**A/N: **runs around in circles whooping. Finally!!! God that felt like an ETERNITY to get finished. But now that it's done, time to get work on Chapter 2! That is, if I get reviews. I'm not going to waste my time posting chappys if nobody is planning on reading them. So for those who want the story to stay, please review, possibly suggest it to other fanfiction fanatics. By the by, if the descriptions seems a little off, its because I'm following the manga, not the anime. Its not like I haven't seen the anime, but the manga is the original and I'd rather use that. Okay, time to eat. Good bye!

Wait I'm not done. For any people who felt the urge to do the math of the ages and crap, then all of you know that if the rest of the cast aged, Shippo should not be in elementary school. Well, too bad, he's there and he's staying there. I couldn't figure out another character. So deal….please. 'Kay, R&R.


	3. Doppelganger

**A/N: **Ok everyone! I'm back! No, I'm not dead……..but that truly was a HORRIBLE hiatus I put you guys on. But, here's the chapter. I do promise though that the chapters from now on will be on a faster update. 'Kay, hope you enjoy this chappy of Living Life!

**Shilyn: **That is actually a great idea, but the way I have the plot line going, it wouldn't work out in this story. Perhaps as an epilogue or at the final chapter or something I _might _have a new member enter the family. But for now, I really just want the story focused around the trio-Taro, Kagome, and Inuyasha. But thanks for the idea anyway! (besides, I know where your coming from about how you felt before you got your little brother……..that was the same with me with my little sister……….but now I wish I was an only child because I swear she's a spawn of the devil himself…XD)

Alrighty then, onto the story!

**Living Life **

**Chapter 2**

**Doppelganger**

Taro watched his parents leave the schoolyard, feeling only a little disappointed. Thanks to Shippo's non-stop chattering, Taro's jitters dissolved into calmness. Sadly, Taro couldn't help feeling sorry for the little firecracker.

During their "get-to-know-you" conversation, Taro found out Shippo's life had not been an easy one. From what he was told, Shippo's parents were killed in a fire when he was only a baby. Infant or not, being a youkai gave Shippo the strength he needed to live. His father had gotten Shippo and his mother out of the apartment before it collapsed. His father was crushed by the falling building. If things couldn't get worse, his mother inhaled too much smoke when she was inside and had to be rushed to the hospital. She died in the middle of the night, and Shippo was put up for adoption. Because of his demon appearance, it was awhile before he was finally adopted. Fortunately, a kind, old woman had done the good deed.

"What was her name?" Taro asked.

"Mmmmm…..I think it's Kaede. That's what everyone calls her. But I just call her sobo-chan."

"Wow, I guess all demons have a price to pay."

"Yeah," Shippo sighed. "But you know, it's not all that bad being a demon. Take us for example. You've been excluded your whole life, and I've never ad a real family. But look at us now. I'm very happy living with sobo-chan, and you have your Mommy, Daddy, and me, a true friend. So life can't be that bad, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Taro said.

Shippo only half nodded, his attention suddenly turned to a girl sitting under a tree and reading. She had a bushy, brown ponytail that sat at the top of her head and a glittering fragment tied on a gold string that hung around her neck.

"Who's that?" Taro asked.

"Who……?" Shippo said in a daze.

"The girl you're staring at."

Shippo blinked a few times before turning to Taro. "Who? Oh wait-her? That's Satsuki. I got to know her a little bit over the summer." At the mention of her name, Shippo's tail began to bounce.

"Do you like her?" Taro questioned.

"Me? No, 'course not." His tail continued bobbing.

Taro decided to drop the subject and took another stab at inquiry. "What's the glittering thing she's wearing?"

Shippo squinted in Satsuki's direction. "It's a piece of quartz her brother had given her. He used to be an archaeologist and he would always bring home some kind of jewel or shiny rock as a gift for her."

"Her brother…..what about her parents?"

"I don't think she has any. If she does, she's never mentioned them to me."

Taro looked over at Satsuki, the stone flower glistening off the sun's rays. Hearing about Shippo and Satsuki, Taro could not be more grateful that he still had his parents. In fact, he couldn't help but feel a little selfish, knowing that Shippo and Satsuki would never experience the happiness and joy Taro felt when around Kagome and Inuyasha.

Suddenly, a loud ringing sounded through the yard, and children stood up with their bags and headed towards the entrance of the school.

Taro and Shippo followed suite, and soon they were following the throng of students towards the doors. It wasn't too long before a violet eyed kid found his way to Taro and Shippo.

"Hay, I finally found you. I saw your Mom and Dad leave but I couldn't find you. Where were you?" He then noticed the fox demon staring at him with wide eyes. "Who's this guy?" Shisai questioned.

"This is Shippo. He's the guy I was talking with while you were looking for me. Shippo, this is Shisai."

Shippo shook hands with Shisai, still staring at him. Then he was off, like a bat out of hell. "Hi, I'm Shippo. Wait you already knew that. Do you know I'm a demon? Guess my tail gives it away. Did you know I'm a _fox _demon? Bet you didn't. Then again, you probably did, 'cause I've got red hair and foxes have red fur. I like your eyes. Is that a natural color? Or are they colored contacts? Why is your hair in a ponytail? Ponytails are for girls. Wait, I have a ponytail. But I'm not a girl! Do you think I'm a girl? Please say-"

Taro clamped a hand over Shippo's flapping lips. "He likes to talk a lot."

"No, really?" Shisai said sarcastically. "But to answer your questions, I knew you were a demon, but not a fox demon. I have my Dad's eyes, so this is my natural eye color. I wear my hair in a ponytail because it's too long and gets in the way, and no, I don't think you're a girl."

"Koof!" Shippo said against Taro's palm.

As the three entered the building, a woman stood at the end of the hallway. "All students, report to the auditorium for the Welcome Back ceremony," the lady addressed. She had long black hair that was tied up with a white ribbon. It seemed to glow with a sapphire beauty. Upon seeing this woman from a distance, something clunked into place in taro's mind.

"Mommy!" he cried as he shot towards the woman before Shisai had a chance to stop him. He lunged towards her and clung to her leg, the entire student body staring at the scene in amazement.

Taro smiled up at the woman, happiness flooding through his body……but it dispersed immediately upon seeing the expression on the woman's face; an expression that Kagome would never wear in a lifetime.

"Your Mommy is not here, and you will not be seeing her for another six hours and thirty minutes. So I suggest you hold your tongue for that amount of time and stop accusing single women of being your birth mother." Even though he hadn't understood half of what she said, Taro knew this woman was pissed at him. The cold glare and frigid tone were big hints. He gulped.

The woman peeled Taro from her leg, wrinkling her nose as if he was some squished insect that got stuck to the sole of her shoe, and pushed him back into the crowd of kids. "But just to make sure you don't mistake me for your…..mommy," she said the name as if it was something sour, "you will call me Miss Kikyo." She stalked off, her polished heels clicking across the waxed tiles.

There was a moment's pause, as all the students registered what had occurred, before turning abruptly to the left and walking towards the auditorium. Shisai and Shippo pushed a dumbfounded Taro through the doors and headed down the many aisles to find a seat.

"Ok, mind explaining what was going on back there?" Shippo asked, once they had selected their seats and were sitting comfortably.

"I don't really know. I knew Mommy had left with Daddy so there was no way that lady could've been Mommy, but…..she just looked so much like her! And from that distance, it was easy for me to make that mistake," Taro said. However, after rethinking the situation, he knew he could've saved himself from the humiliation if he hadn't jumped to conclusions so hastily. Taro slid further into the seat, attempting to hide his burning cheeks.

"Don't worry about it. What's past is past, so let go of it," Shisai comforted.

Shippo was glaring at his armrest, obviously in deep thought. "Do you think Miss Kikyo is your Mom's doubleraper?"

What?" Both Shisai and Taro asked (Taro not knowing what it means…).

"Well, there's that theory that says there is two of every person. One is the nice, normal person, always happy and carefree, and the other is the psychotically evil clone that wants to make everybody miserable. Since Miss Kikyo looks like your Mom, and she seems pretty mean, maybe she's your Mom's doubleraper."

"Don't you mean doppelganger?" Shisai corrected.

"Yeah, doppelganger," Shippo concluded.

The noise level in the room dummed down as a figure headed on stage towards the podium. He was very short, only a head taller than Shippo. He was a balding man with a long nose and a gray mustache. Taro giggled, along with some of the other students, as the short man climbed the stepladder to reach the microphone. He cleared his throat, and spoke.

"Hello students, and welcome to the beginning of what will hopefully be a good year. To those who don't know me, I am Mr. Myoga, the principal of this school." His voice matched his look completely.

He cleared his throat, again, and continued his speech. "Just a few reminders and statements. All students will have their lunchtime on the park benches, while the cafeteria is being rebuilt. For those who don't know where that is, we have certain teachers who will escort you to it."

"Now, I am happy to introduce a new teacher to our school. I have spoken with her, and know she will do a good job. Please give a warm welcome to our teacher, Miss Kikyo."

On cue, high heels could be heard from the side of the stage, and Kikyo walked towards the podium. Taro shuddered, partly from the cold aura she gave off. As she and Myoga shook hands and he stepped out of her, Taro surprised himself, totally sure Myoga's hand would have stuck to Kikyo's palm in her ice like grip.

"Good morning students. I am happy to introduce myself, as Kikyo Miko, and ecstatic to be your teacher this year."

_If this is ecstatic, I wonder what depressed is,_ Taro thought.

He didn't exactly know how the rest of the speech went, because he and Shippo began entertaining themselves by picking the fuzz off the decaying armrest…..and seeing how many pieces the could stick in their mouths

Shisai shook his head at their stupidity. "You're going to get sick."

"Fo be wun't," they both said, their mouths full of cotton.

The sound of applause was the signal of the ending of Kikyo's speech, and Shisai looked away in disgust as the two demons hacked up the fuzz.

Mr. Myoga took the stand once again. "Thank you, Miss Kikyo. I hope you will have a splendid time this year." He paused, cleared his throat for the third time, and continued. "I will announce the students this year. When I call your designated grade, please follow the assigned escort to the classroom. Let's begin."

He pulled out a long list and began reading. "All students entering first grade, please follow Mr. Miyagi to the classroom." A fair number of students rose from their seats and followed the tall man out of the auditorium.

"Students entering second grade, please follow Mr. Yoshikawa to your classroom."

Taro and Shippo stood up, bid farewell to Shisai (who was entering fourth grade) and followed the other second graders towards the exit. Once out in the hallway, Shippo nudged Taro excitedly, pointing at something in front of them. "It's her! It's her!"

"Who?"

"Satsuki! She's in our class!"

Sure enough, Satsuki was walking along in front of them, her bushy ponytail bobbing with every step she took.

After a few minutes of endless walking and turning, they finally arrived outside of a wooden door. "Grade 2, Room 815. Your teacher will be here shortly. Until then, pick a desk and sit down quietly," Mr. Yoshikawa instructed. As he walked away, the students ran into the room, Shippo trying to "innocently" get a desk next to Satsuki.

Taro sat down in a desk next to Shippo, thinking about the choices of teachers, staring unfocused at the desk in front of him. It wasn't until the noise level of the classroom gradually became louder and taro was shaken from his thoughts. Curiously, he took in the scene around him-and spotted something that made his blood run cold. He didn't need to look to know a woman with black tied hair tied in a ribbon walked into the classroom, nor did he need to hear the way she clacked across the floor in her high heels, for Taro had already known who this person would be from the moment he glanced at the teacher's desk, and spotted the nameplate, where, in gold lettering, the letters spelled out "Miss Kikyo", and Taro knew then who their teacher was.

**A/N** Taa daa! Finished chapter 2! I promise I will post chapter 3 up sooner than this one. Well, please please please review! I could really use some of those right now…….Until next time!


	4. Proposals and Unknown Presences

**A/N: **Ok my fellow readers…..ummmm…..yeah. I am SO SO SO sorry about the lacking of updates. I never even wrote anything for like…..3 months! So I apologize, most of my reviewers probably forgot about this, lol! Well, here's the chapter, but just to let you know, it's 12:22 AM here, and I'm writing this from the idea in my head-not notes. So if its not what you expected, again I apologize…

Anyway, enough of my blabbing, and on with the story!

**Living Life**

**Chapter 3: Proposals and Unknown Presences**

When people think of demons and humans, vivid pictures come into their minds, accompanied with their traits. Demons, as most people would think, are strong, mighty, dangerous, and fearless. Humans are the complete opposite, usually lacking in the strength department, having the skill to be as dangerous as a bumble bee, and only having a single ounce of courage. Knowing this, it would be easy to assume that demons also have no worry genes within them.

So then, why was it that Kagome was able to keep it more together than Inuyasha, the almighty dog hanyou, who was fretting over Taro as though he had just sent him off to his death?

Kagome sat and watched Inuyasha fidget in his seat, tapping his claws against the tiles of the table. After dropping off Taro and Shisai, the four had decided to head back to Miroku and Sango's place for a little break. Yes, they were adults with other priorities, but that didn't mean they were going to hop right onto the work. The four were very close, and just because they split off and had families and new lives didn't mean they couldn't reminisce over the "good old days."

However, it didn't seem like a word was going to be spoken from anybody at the rate they were going. Inuyasha, still clicking his talons on the table, was staring off to the right wall of the kitchen, clearly lost in thought. Miroku was sitting next to him, stroking his fingers through his dark colored spikes, and Sango was at the counter, making some tea for everyone. Kagome hoped this tea would calm everyone, especially Inuyasha, but until it was ready, she felt that she would be the one to break the ice.

"Inuyasha! Knock it off this instant! I swear, if I have to listen to your nails on the table for another minute, I'll clip them right off, do you hear me!" Kagome sat there silently as Inuyasha lazily looked up at her. _Well, that wasn't exactly what I had been going for as a conversation starter, but that had gotten so annoying…_

"Kagome, calm down, and stop overreacting. There really isn't any need for that," Inuyasha said, looking at her as though he were scolding a small child.

If Kagome hadn't been in the presence of her two friends, and just the fact that she didn't want the rest of this day to go bad, she would have yelled at him so loudly, the very cups Sango was pouring the tea in would have cracked. So instead, she settled for cuffing him about the ear a few times before arranging herself back in her seat.

Inuyasha rubbed his ear and looked at her sourly. "What the hell was that for?"

"You're such a hypocrite. I can't even believe you would say something like that to me, when you're sitting right there staring off into space as though the whole world has just turned its back on you."

"Not that it already has."

Kagome looked up again, her face a tad bit softer. When she spoke, it was quieter than before. "Inuyasha, if what you say is true-which it isn't-why do you think people have called on you for help so many times in the past, or why when little children happen to see you on the street they react as though seeing a superhero? Do you think that's the reaction you would get from the people around you if the world had its back turned to you?"

"We've already had this discussion, Kagome, and you and I both know why they do that. They get lazy and have me work my ass off to do their jobs while they-

"That's not true, Inuyasha, and you know it," Kagome said, and Inuyasha looked at her seriously for the first time during this whole conversation at the firmness in her voice. "Sure, there are the stray dogs that happen to take advantage of you, but Inuyasha, they're idiots. Burnouts, the stragglers in the alleys that get you to do their dirty work just because they don't have any confidence in themselves. And for that, you should pity them, because they'll probably be that way for the rest of their lives, and they have no future. They won't ever be able to have what we have today, and I know you're grateful for our family, Inuyasha. So try to understand that the people that hate you or take advantage of you are the people that don't matter. That's harsh, yes, but truthfully, they aren't the ones you need to worry about hating you."

Inuyasha just stared at Kagome, who had now looked down to her folded hands on the table. That was not something that had been improvised, especially with Kagome. It had been thought over and planned out, and Inuyasha realized that Kagome must have always thought about it for just a little bit each day, waiting for the opportunity to let it out.

He reached over and placed his hand on top of her folded ones, and grasped them tightly. She kept her head down, but looked up at him with her eyes. "If my pessimistic side has been bothering you lately, I'm sorry. You're right, about everything you said, so I'll try from now on to follow through with you're words," Inuyasha said, rubbing his thumb along the invisible creases of her hand. Kagome smiled slightly, and Inuyasha could see some sort of shining light in her eyes, as though one of the few gray clouds that hung over this relationship had been evaporated.

The moment was ruined, however, when Sango set down the tray of tea cups right in the middle of the table (causing Inuyasha to quickly pull his hand back) and said formally, "Tea is ready." She then took a seat next to Kagome and picked a cup off the tray, while Inuyasha gave her an annoyed look. "You trying to crush my hand, woman, or is that how you always bring tea to your guests."

Sango brought the cup to her lips and took a tiny sip. "Well, this is my house, and I'm just acting as I would if you two had been talking about the weather. You're hand just happened to be right where I would set the tray down, so its not my fault if you're in a tissy about it. If you thought having your little lovey dovey moment right here in the kitchen was going to go unnoticed, then you should rethink that next time you have another one of those and pick a more private place to do it-unless you're at your house."

"It was spontaneous, and I don't see you acting all calm when Miroku hits on another woman," Inuyasha said, now keeping his hands under the table. It wasn't until Kagome had passed a cup of tea over to him did he remove his hands to rest lightly on the handle of the cup.

"When Miroku gropes strange women frequently, I have every right to be jealous and angry. We're married, and the things he does is like having a mini affair with the female population of Japan. However, when he is genuine and kind with me, I do reciprocate it, no matter where we are. Some people like it private, others like it public. I can swing either way. Don't you remember how he proposed to me, so many years ago?" Sango asked earnestly. Kagome could tell she enjoyed telling this story, because she and Inuyasha have heard it so many times, it could be repeated word for word from memory to Taro as a bedtime story, without the assistance of neither Sango nor Miroku. If Inuyasha had forgotten, he was lying and just being mean.

"Can't say I have," Inuyasha responded coldly, indicating he didn't feel like listening to it for the hundredth time. Kagome sighed. _Yep, he's lying and being mean. _

Apparently, Sango hadn't gotten the point. With a smile on her face, she said, "Well, I'll tell you again. Ok, so it was the two of us at that park….Mitsuhuru Park, I believe….anyway, there's that big statue there, remember? The big one of some guy on a horse raising a sword in the air? It was some chief or something…..anyway, I was sitting on the bench right in front of it, so that my back was turned to it. Miroku had gone off somewhere, so I was patiently sitting there, waiting for his return. Suddenly, his voice erupts behind me. 'Sango!' he cries, and I turn, a flush rising to my cheeks as tears begin to fill my eyes-

"Could you ever give us the shorter version when you repeat this story? It doesn't have to be told like a novel," Inuyasha interrupted, which earned him a 'shhh!' from Kagome.

"Quiet, Inuyasha. The good part is coming up." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"So, _anyway_," Sango emphasized, looking pointedly at Inuyasha, "I turn around, and there's Miroku, sitting on the horse part of the statue. Looking very knightly, he stood up on the horse, and used both hands to reach into his pocket to extravagantly pull out my wedding ring. But he had lost his footing and….went tumbling down the statue, and conked his head on the pedestal. Even though I was freaking out, I couldn't help but smile a little because….that is something _so _Miroku. But of course, that was until I saw the blood. Then I scared a mother and her child away when I screeched at them to hand over her cell phone. When she obliged, and the ambulance had come, took Miroku away, blah blabbity blah…..we were at the hospital, I by his bedside, when he turned to me and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes, and all I could do was squeeze his hand, because a hug would have been too painful. It wasn't the most romantic of scenes, with us at a hospital, him incapable of kneeling down, and his face scarred with bruises and scratches, but truthfully, I wouldn't have had it any other way," Sango concluded, pausing for effect. Finally, she looked back up at Inuyasha. "Sooo….that's it!"

"And could you mind explaining to me exactly what the point of that was?"

"The point is, everyone in that park saw the whole ordeal, and about fifty or more so people would have seen him propose to me if everything had gone correctly…but it hadn't, and those who think of my proposal would find it to be slightly embarassing. But like I said, if that had been the only way I would have ever gotten with Miroku, then I'm glad that's the way it played out. So you see, ours was completely public, even the aftermath had hit the papers, so _everyone _knew about it. It wasn't private, but I was glad that's the way it happened."

"Yeah, well, at least neither me nor Kagome was at a hospital for our proposal," Inuyasha said, looking up to the ceiling. If Kagome hadn't known better, she would have believed he was thanking all the Buddhists in the world for ending Sango's story.

Sango, however, didn't seem to be paying any attention to Inuyasha anymore. She was staring fixedly at Miroku, the only member of the group who hadn't spoken a word since they walked into the house. He was fingering another nail like hair piece, still staring at the table. Sango was about to get his attention, but what came out of his mouth stopped her short. "Something is very odd about that school."

Kagome could have slapped him. After the tea had gotten Inuyasha to become as civil as he could get, it would now completely wear off once he heard this. It was a perfect opportunity for Inuyasha to start agonizing over Taro all over again, and now that he had an accomplice who shared his thoughts, there was no way Inuyasha would drop the subject now.

To her complete surprise, he just turned to Miroku with a blank expression, as though he thought Miroku was a complete loony. _That tea really did get to his head,_ Kagome thought.

"What are you talking about Miroku? I didn't sense anything, and I would be the first one who would pick up any traces of something bad happening," Inuyasha said.

Miroku took one more pause before folding his arms across his chest and looking at the other three people at the table. "I just felt it this year, and only when we were leaving. It wasn't a feeling, more like…..a presence of some sort. There is some existence in that school that is sending me some unnatural vibes, and the amount of it was quite large, so I don't believe it came from a student. It had to be some faculty member, or a person of a high status."

Inuyasha stared at Miroku with the same expression on his face. "Miroku, I'm a _demon. Demons _sense _other demons_. This 'presence' that you're talking about must be a figment of your perverted and deranged mind, and my senses are extremely accurate. If something was off, I would have been able to pick it up right away."

"That we know Inuyasha. But this presence had not a trace of demon within it. Trust me, I've exorcised demons before, remember? I know what I'm talking about when I say that it wasn't a demon. It was a mortal, human being, not a drop of magical, or extraneous blood in their veins. Whoever, or whatever, this presence is, it's going to become dangerous, and it should be stopped."

Now he had everyone's attention-even Inuyasha's. Sadly, Kagome could tell he was trying very hard not to let his worry show. Everyone knew Miroku was right-a demon Inuyasha could sense, but any other evil force, in order to be detected, they would have to rely on Miroku to find it. An example would have been ghosts, because the very house that they were sitting had been plagued by a vengeful spirit, and only Miroku had been able to exorcise it, because when Inuyasha had been called upon to help, he could not for the life of him figure out what was wrong with the house. He could not sense the ghost as Miroku had. If what Miroku was saying was true, then there was something very wrong.

"But, Miroku, if it's as bad as you say it is, then shouldn't we do something about it, like go up and report this to the school or something?" Kagome asked.

"That would be the wise decision, but I just noticed it today, and if we jump to conclusions, than we may be putting ourselves into a bigger mess than we already seem to be getting into. The best choice of action is to just wait a few more days, and see what happens. Today, we'll go together to pick up the kids, and when we arrive back home, we'll ask the kids if anything out of the ordinary happened to them."

At this, the table became silent as everyone sifted through their own thoughts. What in the world was Miroku talking about? Even though they were mortal (Inuyasha not entirely) they could sense a bad aura when there was one. Inuyasha and Miroku were no- brainers, but Kagome and Sango were a different story. Sango was a full fledged human, but she had a few senses that she picked up from the priestess Midoriko, a warrior maiden who used to guard an ancient jewel in Ancient Japan, five hundred years ago. This jewel, the Shikon no Tama, had been guarded by her oldest ancestors before being given off to a priestess to be guarded. Kagome was a descendant of that priestess. With the powers of a miko, she would be able to sense and destroy an evil presence almost as easily as Miroku. So the fact that none of them could figure out why only Miroku was able to discern this force was very eery, and creeped out Sango and Kagome a little.

Miroku glanced at the nearby clock on the wall. Upon seeing the time (which was 9:30) he stood up and pushed his chair back in. "Sango, I'm going to go cleanse and meditate for quite some time. Hopefully I can analyze this unknown ambience. I'll be down in about three hours." As he made his way to the exit of the kitchen, he kissed Sango on the top of her head. "The tea was delicious and soothing, Sango. I'm sure it will help me."

"But," Sango started, but Miroku had already walked out of the room. "you never even _drank_ your tea," she muttered, staring at the full cup that still sat in front of Miroku's chair. She sighed and placed her chin in her palm as Kagome put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure he's fine Sango," Inuyasha said, which brought the attention of both Kagome and Sango to him. Inuyasha was probably saying the only genuine thing he had said to her since the day began. And for Inuyasha, this was something that didn't go right up his lane. "He's probably just trying to get rid of his thoughts. Maybe the clutter of it all is finally starting to confuse him a little, but he'll get rid of it. Hell, its probably all those thoughts in the gutter that are crowding up his thinking space and making it impossible for him to think clearly. In about three hours, he'll be his perverted self again." You couldn't have Inuyasha say a comment without throwing in a few snarky lines.

Sango tried to smile, but both Inuyasha and Kagome could tell it was forced. "I know he's okay, but it just gets me nervous when he goes off and says something like this. I mean, like we've all discussed, we should have all been able to sense whatever he's feeling, not just him. It's just, Miroku usually never says anything like that unless there really is something truly wrong."

This comment was answered with silence, because both Kagome and Inuyasha didn't know how to respond. As much as they didn't want to believe it, they knew what Sango was saying was true. If Miroku was acting this way, there was indeed something very wrong. And the scariest part of it is, if three out of the four people can't sense this evil aura, then that only leaves one person to stop it. Together, they could probably defeat it. One person doing it alone, could usually lead to failure. And no one wanted to think about Miroku trying his hardest to defeat whatever it was he was ranting on about, when his wife, and his two best friends could only stand there and watch.

**A/N: **does happy dance I finished Chapter 3! Yesssss! Whooohoooo! Woot the woot! 'Kay I'm done now. Hope you guys liked this chapter. And yeah, no Taro interaction in this chapter, but don't worry-the little tyke will be in the next chapter for sure! Oh, and by the way, the cause of my 4 month hiatus? If anyone ever got bored and decided to take a glance at my pathetic profile, then you would understand that I like the show Lost. Ok, well, something happened, and now……I became OBSESSED with it! It is SUCH a GREAT SHOW! And you should all try and give it a chance, 'cause it really is a phenomenon. But the main reason is that I fell in love with the character, Sawyer, and I'm now a fan of shipping Kate and Sawyer as a couple. So that's it. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then just ignore this. If you do, that makes me very happy, and let me know if you happen to like Kate and Sawyer as a couple as well. And for those of you who do, I'm going to write a one-shot about them soon, so you'll see that coming up. But anyway…..I'll get right to work on the next chapter, and I promise this time it will be a shorter wait. Alrighty then…I'm off! God I leave such annoying and long A/Ns….


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